Sketches from the West Coast: The Tree of Life

From time to time late at night I dig into my photo archive just to sit quietly and look at this picture.

It happened a few years ago in San Francisco at the Japanese Tea garden. When I saw this pine tree, I realized that I was looking at my own warped life with its myriads of twists and unexpected turns, miserable failures and stubborn rise-ups.

That's the closest I can come up with to Mal's request for a self-portrait. :-)

Sketches from the West Coast: The Tree of Life

From time to time late at night I dig into my photo archive just to sit quietly and look at this picture.

It happened a few years ago in San Francisco at the Japanese Tea garden. When I saw this pine tree, I realized that I was looking at my own warped life with its myriads of twists and unexpected turns, miserable failures and stubborn rise-ups.

That's the closest I can come up with to Mal's request for a self-portrait. :-)

comments (28)

Tortured, or tortuous, that is the question!
This tree's chaos of branches as an analogy of your life suggests you have had an interesting one, VZ.
That so many of the gnarly branches still have evidence of vibrant life at the furthest ends suggests it is still interesting, and will be for some time to come.
It is a fine image, but I don't know you well enough to say if it is a good portrait.

vz-nostalgia: Tortured or tortuous...what a great question! The line could be as blurry as between hope and delusion.

From what I know of you thus far, Viktor, my guess is that this is a very fine self-portrait! You are every bit as interesting, intricate, expansive, fascinating and convoluted as this tree! HA! I love it! And I can hardly wait to meet you in the New Year!!! (Maybe I'll be the one to get the portrait Mal wants, even though you may forbid the camera!)

vz-nostalgia: We'll meet at the camera-free zone, Ms. Ginnie. That was the deal, remember?

I thought this was an amazing image, when I read your comment with it, I realized this is way more than that, for that a LIKEY. it true when thay say a picture speaks more than a thousand words, for you this tells your life story, love the selfportrait, I think the cahllenge is now to Mal again

vz-nostalgia: Yeah, the challenge is now back to Mal. Let's see, if he can beat this one.

mal

Great Britain (UK)

11 Dec 2007, 13:21

what a wonderful metaphor to make about your life VZ. Well, there may be complicated twists and turns in your life and periods of baron leafless winters but the tree looks strong and healthy right now to me Viktor, so enjoy what you have now, appreciate the past but don't live there. lovely photograph. mal

vz-nostalgia: Those memories, they are like hot flashes, they come and go, and there is nothing you can do about it.

It is those twists and unexpected turns that make this tree rare in its complexity and intrigue. Parts of it seem hard, rough, dark, and unable to be untangled, while other areas seem so extraordinarily uncomplicated and glow in a smooth polished type way. The small branches in the background make me wonder in which direction this tree will grow next.

VZ, count your blessings if this is tree is a representation of your life.

vz-nostalgia: I don't think even the tree itself knows in which direction it will grow. It will respond to the circumstances. That's why I look at life as one very long jazz composition. And you twist, and you turn, and you improvise, all depends on what's happening around you.

Great picture and interpretation(s). That must have been quite a tea session.

You can get closer to mal's request - cameras have self timers. Being prepared to come closer is something else again

The picture also demonstrates something else about a life's view - the question of where to focus...

vz-nostalgia: Hey Louis. You don't even know how close you are with your remark about a lack of focus. But what can we do, man? There are so many interesting things out there. It would be a pity to square yourself to one or two things...As a multi-tasking man yourself, I think you understand.

I think you should print this and hang it on the wall near your computer so you won't have to dig it out.

I think it's a superb picture, but I'm not really sure why. I could look at it for ages and will store it in my 'likeys'

Thank you so much for sharing this one, it's clearly one of your personal favourites.

vz-nostalgia: Hi Ms. Ellie. You're in dampy England. I'm in droughty Georgia (still no rain here).
A friend of mine bought a large print of this, and he said the same thing, he can look at this for ages. Apparently, people draw their own associations and apply their own experiences to the photographs like this.

Viktor, this is the most beautiful selfportret I have ever seen, ones life is not a paved one, it has sudden turns, twists, fall backs, go lefts and go rights, that makes us strong people I am sure it does!!!! thanks for sharing this wonderful tree of life

vz-nostalgia: The sudden twists and turns might make some people stronger, Ms. Astrid, but others, they might break them in half. Too bad I have no answer to where to find the golden middle that lies in between those two.

VZ: What brought you so far deep into my archive?
Dori: i like to wander around your archive
your mission of making people think when looking at your photos is accomplished with me
although probably most of the time i deviate from your initial intention

vz-nostalgia: you deviate from my initial intention? Well, there is nothing wrong with that per se. In fact, I'll tell you more: I like it.

Your response to Astrid's comment is axactly what I thought, when I saw this picture and read your note. Unfortunately not everyone gains strength. Those people, who do so, are blessed, though. Their life is becoming richer with every experience, for they know about it's worth. I doubt that there is a golden middle.

vz-nostalgia: :
Iris: I doubt that there is a golden middle.
VZ: There should be one, Ms.Iris, as extremes are always harsh on us. It was ancient Greeks who noticed that and incorporated it into their philosophy (check Aristotle's "Golden Mean"). They strived to get everything in balance, into the right proportions, to reach harmony in all aspects of their life. I think we blew it. We strayed away too far from those ideals.